PASAY CITY, Philippines — The Senate impeachment court on Thursday postponed the scheduled testimony of Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura after defense lawyers for Vice President Sara Duterte requested more time to review voluminous financial documents.
Lead defense counsel Atty. Sheila Sison raised the plea during a sidebar with presiding officer Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, explaining that the defense had only just received the AMLC summaries that day and needed to review roughly 23 to 24 boxes of records.
“We cannot imagine how we would be able to intelligently respond to the questioning of the prosecution to their intended witness,” Sison told the court.
Escudero granted the defense’s motion, rescheduling Buenaventura’s appearance from October 1 and 2 to Monday, October 5.
“Ex comitate, ex aequo, out of courtesy and equity, the Chair grants the time requested by the counsel for respondent,” Escudero ruled.
Buenaventura is set to present financial transaction records connected to allegations of unexplained wealth leveled against the Vice President.
The court adjusted subsequent subpoenas accordingly, scheduling insurance firm representatives for October 5 and 6, followed by bank executives and Bureau of Internal Revenue officials on October 6 and 7.
During the same hearing, the prosecution team updated its witness lineup. House lead prosecutor and Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro announced that former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV would no longer be called to testify.
The defense also raised confidentiality concerns regarding the AMLC documents, which were marked “strictly confidential” and included an 11-page cover letter stating the agency was not waiving confidentiality over its records.
Sison cited statutory protections under Section 8-A of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (RA 9160, as amended by RA 11521), noting that earlier subpoena approvals were issued without prejudice to future defense objections.
Following a brief caucus, Escudero distributed relevant sections of the anti-money laundering law to senator-judges “out of an abundance of caution,” adding that members of the court would be allowed to deliberate on the confidentiality issues when the trial resumes.